As student fees and tuition costs rise across the country,
high-priced textbooks exacerbate financial matters for thousands
upon thousands of students. But few students know their textbooks
don’t have to cost as much as they do. Fortunately for
students, the lobbying group CALPIRG is taking notice.
A report released by CALPIRG last week is nothing less than an
indictment of textbook publishers. The report, aptly titled
“Ripoff 101,” found:
“¢bull;Â Each UC student will spend an average of $898 on
textbooks this year, compared to $624 in 1996-97.
“¢bull; Textbooks are often bundled with CDs or other
accessories which professor often never even use, yet the additions
significantly driving up the books’ costs.
“¢bull;Â Publishers cash in on new editions which often
include little new material. Most faculty feel new additions are
justified less than half of the time.
Not surprisingly, textbook publishers are working to discredit
the report, saying not enough faculty were surveyed. According to
the San Francisco Chronicle, a UC Berkeley statistics professor,
however, called such concerns “nonsense,” and indicated
he thought the sample size was statistically significant.
In any case, publishers will have a hard time convincing
students they aren’t being ripped off. (Yes, even UCLA
undergraduates can figure out that things like calculus and the
Spanish language don’t change quickly enough to warrant a new
textbook every three or four years.)
While CALPIRG has now brought this issue to light, the fight
against textbook publishing companies is far from over. A critical
report is not going to convince publishing companies to dip into
their bottom lines to help students.
What is needed is good legislation. Currently Rep. David Wu,
D-Ore., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., are tackling the problem
on the federal level, while Carol Liu, D-La Cañada and chair
of the California Assembly Higher Education Subcommittee, supports
state-level efforts to combat rising textbook costs.
If elected officials are serious about attacking this problem
““ as they claim to be ““ they must carefully write
legislation so publishing companies cannot use loopholes to
continue their exploitation.
Students groups like CALPIRG, in the meantime, must continue to
fight the ever-increasing costs of higher education wherever they
can.
Nobody in California seems to listen to students as they call
for a stop to increasing student fees. Higher education officials
praise California’s Master Plan for Higher Education ““
which calls for easy financial access to college ““ but they
always cave in to pressure from the state government to raise fees.
Dealing with this sad reality, students must fight to lower the
secondary costs of higher education:Â housing, textbook and
transportation expenses.
CALPIRG’s report ““ and their work with elected
officials ““Â provides a good model for other students to
follow.